


Swansong

by TheAzureFox



Series: Of Wishes and War [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Claude is most definitely bi, F/M, Underage Drinking, Unrequited Love, sexual tension? sexual tension, spoilers for game cutscene, student crushes on teacher, use of fairy tale motifs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 18:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19773583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: In which the Garreg Mach Monastery is holding a ball, Claude is feeling miserable, and Byleth takes pity on him by offering him a dance.(F!Byleth x Claude, Dimitri x Edelgard)





	Swansong

**Author's Note:**

> HI I WAS GONNA HOLD OFF ON POSTING THIS UNTIL NEXT WEEK BUT IT'S KIND OF BEEN CONFIRMED YOU CAN DANCE WITH THE HOUSE LEADERS SO FUCK IT I'M POSTING THIS
> 
> ~~also, with his english voice being released it's 100% confirmed that Claude is my favorite character and is indeed going in the direction I had hoped they would go with him. His " _Schemes? Me?_ I have _no idea_ what you’re talking about! I plan to fight fair and square as ever!” quote has definitely stolen my heart. Goodbye Blue Lions and Black Eagles, the Golden Deer is the only house for me~~
> 
> Edit: Ao3 keeps fucking with my formatting so hopefully I've fixed it this time around. Also changed the cutscene image to that of female Byleth's hand being taken because djhdfjhdf you just know I gotta keep it true to the game

* * *

Glittering chandeliers. Polished floors. Beautiful music. Tables full of festive food and chairs set out for tired feet.

Claude drinks in the world around him, holding a glass of champagne in his hands as he leans against a marble pillar. Already, the students of the Garreg Mach Monastery have come out to play, holding hands and dancing to the music swimming in the air. Among them, Claude spots his own house-mates having fun, whirling with laughter as the festivities whisk them away to a moment full of joy and happiness.

Standing in the spotlight of the occasion, dancing with their hands clasped together and stars beaming all around them, are Dimitri and Edelgard. The house leaders of the Blue Lions and the Black Eagles are enjoying themselves spectacularly, moving in perfect sync as the music carries their steps. The two are sharing a moment beyond moments, earning the gazes of many jealous eyes as their radiance lights up the ballroom.

And, it is with some heartache of his own that Claude watches them dance. To see Edelgard smiling widely, loosening her regal posture to laugh at the boy who tucks her hair behind her ear…why, he’d simply be lying to say he wasn’t at all envious! He’d dreamt of many moments where he, too, could join upon their dance, holding both of their hands as he carried himself upon the dance floor and worked to follow in their mirthful steps.

Yet…such pungent dreams were simply not accomplishable by someone like him. It was evident to him the moment he laid eyes upon Edelgard and Dimitri: the two were star struck with each other, lost in their own little world as the sought the eyes of each other. Regardless of how he tried to intervene, to slip his way into that world of his in the hopes of fostering their affection for him, he knew his efforts were useless. Persistent as he was, as _masochistic_ as he was, he knows better than to assume their hands would one day hold his own. 

That was a fool’s dream, after all. And, Claude, who prided himself on his shrewdness and cunning, was _not_ a fool.

Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel like a heartbroken idiot, watching Edelgard and Dimitri dance like a pair of swans in a battlefield of music. His own heart sank in his chest at the sight of them, longing choking him to the point of suffocation.

He chugs his drink down and tries to ignore the scorch of alcohol at the back of his throat.

“Careful there,” a fluttering voice says, “you don’t want to get completely drunk. Especially not on a wonderful night like this.”

He tilts his head to watch Byleth appear before him, holding her own glass of champagne to clink against his with a playful grin. 

“Teach,” he greets, bumping his glass against hers to reciprocate her action. The mere sight of the girl has him smiling and he feels the tension in his heart ease as she watches him. “It’s fine. Nothing bad will happen if I get the slightest bit tipsy.”

“You say that but I saw the way you were chugging that drink.” Her eyebrows raise with questions, hand smoothing out the folds of her dress. The boy pauses to look over her. He notes that she’s wearing a black dress that goes up to her knees, white shoes accompanying her feet and long hair swept into a ponytail that sits just at her heart. Byleth looks up at him, not at all disturbed by his wandering eyes as she asks: “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Heartbreak and heartache,” he lifts his glass in the air, inspecting its polished surface, before turning to the teacher with a laugh. “How about you? Have you been abandoned by your dance partner already?”

Byleth scowls at him. “I haven’t had a dance partner yet, thank you very much.”

“Oh?” His interest piques at _that_. “Why not? A pretty lady like you should have men and women alike asking for thousands of dances by now! And what about your fellow teachers, have they the absurdity not to ask for your hand?”

Her left shoulder jostles his right one and he watches with a grin as she rolls her eyes at him. “No, all the other teachers already have partners and the ones that don’t can’t be bothered to dance with me.” Byleth pauses. “That, and I’m not much of a dancer.”

“You, milady?” Claude laughs at that. “I seem to recall you dancing on the battlefield just the other day. You were a spectacular performer. Why, the mere sight of you sent even the enemy soldiers clapping in applause for your majestic skills!”

“You jest,” the girl says, half as an accusation, half as a statement of exasperation. “Yet, by those standards alone, I’d say you’re infinitely more qualified than me to dance.”

He shakes his head, shrugging at her as he sighs fondly. “You can’t possibly be referring to me Teach! I am as bumbling as a lame deer in those fields of blood. Nay, I say I can’t dare to compare myself to you. It would be like comparing an ugly duckling to a beautiful bird!”

“But even an ugly ducking can grow to become a swan,” she says in teasing, sipping from her glass with a twinkle in her eyes. “Admit it. You’re just as bad as me at dancing.”

Claude takes her words with a smile, setting down his glass and reaching for her hands without giving a thought to his actions. “You want to test that theory?” He asks, inciting her into a dance.

The girl blinks at him, setting her glass aside and taking his challenge with a lift of her chin. “Only if you think you’re brave enough to do it.”

He chuckles, their daredevil pact sealed, and he brings her to the dance floor. At once, a several hundred eyes fall upon the both of them, the spotlight switching from Edelgard and Dimitri to the Golden Deer house leader and the teacher who teaches him. At once, curiosity alights in the air, inquisitive gazes waiting as Claude places his hand on Byleth’s hip and guides her to step in time with the music. 

Much to his surprise, Byleth moves without his guidance, following the rhythm of the song at hand. Her movements are awkward, clumsy and stiff, but he can tell she’s trying her hardest. So, he eases up her posture, wordlessly correcting it with a smile. Byleth keeps her gaze on him as he does so, not at all flinching at his wandering hands. Instead, she seems to lean into his touch, adjusting herself as necessary to better accompany his movements.

Eventually, it gets to the point Byleth can manage on her own, steps no longer stiff and obvious. She picks things up a fast: a trait she’s no doubt had to learn while spending time as his impromptu teacher.

Claude can admit it. He’s rather impressed by the way in which she dances, confident and daring despite her lack of experience. It’s something he himself has never managed – especially not when his own dancing ability had been earned through several hundred insufferable classes on the subject at hand. 

“So,” Claude begins, leading Byleth in a circle and spinning her around, “am I bad at dancing now?”

“I don’t know,” the girl says, “you sure know your stuff. What’s your secret?”

“My family has been forcing me to learn ballroom dancing since I was ten,” he says, clicking his tongue. “They’ve always been hoping my dance skills would woo over some partner of worth. Which - as you can guess - is utter blasphemy.” 

“I don’t know,” Byleth laughs, her hand squeezing his shoulder as they twirl yet again. “You’ll be able to find someone someday. With skills like this, there’s no way you can’t.”

Claude’s gaze slides to Edelgard and Dimitri. The two are still dancing their dance, oblivious to their stolen spotlight as they stare into each other’s eyes and flush spectacularly. Their reddened faces makes his heart twist in pain, longing overcoming him as he remembers the heartache he has temporarily abandoned.

“Claude,” Byleth’s voice calls to him, and he turns to look at her, “is it possible that you…like those two?”

The boy’s heart stutters in his chest. He loses the rhythm of the dance, his practiced steps losing their gait as he stumbles in his surprise. Byleth catches him, however, easing him back into position as she awaits his answer.

“I do,” he admits, quietly, like he could care less if his beloved teacher knew his secrets. “However, I know they don’t return my affections.”

Byleth’s gaze turns to the pair dancing feet away from them, oblivious to the conversation at hand. “Unrequited love?” The teacher ventures.

“You guessed it.” He scoffs at himself. “It’s pathetic, isn’t it? Chasing after people who don’t love me back?”

“Not at all,” Byleth says. “Rather, you could say I’m really envious of you.”

He peers at her. “Me? Why?”

“Falling in love is a feeling I’ve never gotten to witness,” Byleth responds, shrugging her shoulders and giving a pitiful smile. “Of course, that isn’t to say I’ve had dreams of falling in love. When I was younger, I used to read romance novels. A lot. They kind of grew on me.”

“A bright and talented mercenary like yourself reading romance novels? My, Teach, I didn’t know you were such a romantic!”

Her cheeks turn pink. “You say that, but it’s the truth. I used to dream of meeting princes from far-away lands and holding hands with princesses wearing flower crowns on their heads. I often thought that it would be great if one day I, too, could fall in love.”

“But you’ve never managed to do so?” He ventures. 

“You guessed it,” she shrugs again. “So, that’s why I can’t help but feel a bit envious of you. Unrequited love or not, it’s a still beautiful feeling to be in love, isn’t it?”

He stares at her, visibly gaping, before he shakes his head and bursts with laughter. He breaks away from her to clutch at his sides, trying to contain his fit of noise before anyone else takes notice of it. 

It takes him more than a minute to recover but, when he does, he catches Byleth’s gaze and smiles brightly at her. 

When her eyebrows raise in question, he slots himself back into position and leans close to her right ear. “Thanks, Teach,” he says in a whisper. “That makes me feel better.”

“Anything for my favorite student,” she says in teasing. However, her eyes are sparkling with seriousness, her grip on him tightening in reassurance as she pauses in her dance. “I know it doesn’t mean much but remember this, Claude. I’m always willing to lend an ear if you need one.”

“You’re too kind,” he states. And _means_ it. “If you keep acting kind like this, I might fall in love with _you_ instead.”

“You say that like you’re serious.”

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.” He laughs again, picking up the dance and sliding the two of them back into rhythm. “But kindness is what attracted me to those two in the first place.”

The pair glance at Edelgard and Dimitri. The two house leaders are still dancing with each other, sweat visible on their skin by this point. Yet, infatuation still brims in their eyes as they carry each other, gazes forever locked on the other as they dance and dance and _dance._

“What a beautiful pair of swans,” Byleth says.

Claude watches them. Watches those two house leaders of red and blue twirl and whirl and finds the tension in his heart wavering. His throat is still thick with longing, still burning with misery and a mighty need for alcohol. 

Yet somehow, in Byleth’s presence, he can’t help but feel his anguish finally disappearing to give him some peace of mind. He relishes in the feeling, finding comfort in the way the girl’s soft gaze files away all his fears without her so much as speaking a word. 

“Beautiful indeed.” He agrees with the girl. And then, as if his mouth has a mind of its own, he adds: “But not as beautiful as you.”

Byleth flushes spectacularly and Claude decides at once that it’s a sight he would like to see again. He leans close to her on impulse, casually pressing his forehead against hers, and is surprised to find that she leans into his touch. The girl closes her eyes, letting him lead her, before the music comes to an end and she’s left opening her eyes to give him a curtsy.

A round of cheers fills the air and Claude stands tall as those within the ballroom give an applause. Their gazes are flitting between him and his teacher and that of the other two house leaders, stars in their eyes as they whistle in appreciation. Claude gives a bow out of obligation to his audience, releasing his arms from his teacher’s grip as he bumps his elbow against hers.

“They liked your performance,” he says with a grin.

“They liked _our_ performance,” Byleth returns with a roll of her eyes.

“Sure. Let’s go with that.”

The two of them share a laugh and Claude finds it…nice. Even while indulging in his unrequited love for the other house leaders, he finds it comforting to be able to joke with his teacher and release himself of his pain, if only temporarily. 

So, with the night still young and with his feelings beginning to become thrown into turmoil, Claude grabs at his teacher’s hand, kneels before her, and presses a kiss to the very back of it. The girl looks down at him, startled. Claude holds up his hands, giving a joking laugh to mask his sudden self-consciousness as he says: 

“A lady who dances like a swan should be rewarded with a gentleman’s kiss.”

Claude removes his hand from her own, letting it fall back to her side. He turns away, embarrassment biting at his cheeks as he backs away. Such impulsive actions were unlike him. Such cheesy words were _beneath_ him. Even the silver that coats his tongue is ashamed of his flattery, making him to lose his train of thought as he struggles to reassure her. 

“Ah,” he says after a minute of constricting silence, “I didn’t mean to imply anything by that. I’m just-Mm!”

Byleth’s lips brush his cheek and he reels back, eyes wide as he stares at her with a gaping mouth. The girl stares back at him, holding her head high as if to defy his look of shock and surprise. There’s something rather cunning about the way she brushes her fingers over her lips, something rather shrewd about how she appears unapologetic. It evokes some sort of feeling: one that makes his heart flutter in his chest despite himself.

“I’m sorry,” she says, “I couldn’t help but bestow a lady’s kiss on to the cheek of the prince who accompanied her tonight.”

Her words are light and soft. Yet, they carry an undercurrent of sincerity that has Claude’s cheeks flushing dark.

And in that moment, in that span of time of honesty and longing, Claude falls for Byleth like he’s fallen for Edelgard and Dimitri long ago. He bows to her, his eyes alight with stars and sparkles, and concludes the dance by asking for her hand and the chance to escort her out.

Byleth smiles, accepting the gesture without complaint. Claude takes her hand with a squeeze, laughing as he takes her to the world outside.

Together.

_(He’s fallen – oh Seiros, he’s fallen – and while he doesn’t realize it at first, this is the moment that begins his spree of infatuation._

_Them, standing under glittering chandeliers and staring into each other’s eyes, that, at long last, is the moment where Claude feels a need to grab her tight and never let go.)_

* * *

In the ballroom left bereft of music, Edelgard and Dimitri watch as a boy draped in gold and a girl dressed in black leave the area. The two watch the boy laugh with mirth, his eyes sparkling like twinkling gemstones as he ignores his affectionate blunder and carries on in conversation.

“Some part of me feels happy,” Edelgard says, clutching at Dimitri’s hand and squeezing it tight. “I think Claude has found it.”

“His answer?” Dimitri asks. “The one we can’t give him?”

“Yes,” Edelgard murmurs, “I think he’s found it, that swan song that he was so desperately searching for.”

Dimitri leans in closer to her, his lips brushing her own as he cups her cheeks. Edelgard teases him by pressing her lips against his own for a spare moment, sending shocks of static across his skin. 

“Some part of me can’t forgive myself for not accepting his affections,” the boy says, almost like a confession.

“Neither can I,” Edelgard admits in turn. “If it were up to me, I wish I could reciprocate them.”

“Alas,” Dimitri pulls back to watch doors fall and latch into place, “if Claude finds what he’s looking for, what makes his love requited, then that’s the most we can hope for.”

“Even so…”

“Don’t feel guilty, Edelgard,” Dimitri shakes his head, pressing his forehead against her. He hears her breath sharpen and smiles, tilting his head to try kissing her again. She doesn’t tease him this time, allowing him entrance to her mouth.

When they pull back, Dimitri’s gaze is forlorn and distant. “One day, I’m sure of it, he’ll know what it’s like to be in love with someone who truly loves him back.”

“Well, if you’re certain of it,” Edelgard presses him against a nearby pillar, fingers splayed across his chest, “then I’ll have hope in your words. After all, Claude deserves someone who can _truly_ reciprocate his feelings. We can’t be those people…but maybe, just maybe, that girl can…”

“Maybe that girl can be the one for him,” the boy finishes for her, bending down to grab another kiss.

Edelgard’s hands slip to his hair. Dimitri’s slips to her back, pressing her tight against him. They kiss in the ballroom, shameless and lustful, their thoughts lingering only on each other in that moment of bliss. 

They stay that way for a minute, milking the air out of each other until they have to pull away to breathe. Dimitri combs his fingers into her hair, pressing his lips to the tip of her forehead as he sighs in contentment.

“If only we could escape into the night, my prince. Wouldn’t that be most wonderful?”

“I would love nothing more, my princess.”

They depart from the ballroom, following in the steps of a golden boy and a blackened girl as they do so.

Their shadows intertwine, lingering in a room left empty of people to contemplate. For a moment, all is well. The moon is hung white in the sky, the monastery is filled to the brim with people, and the world is forever spinning on its axis.

* * *

_And then, one day, that moon will burn red in the sky it hangs itself from. The monastery will be left cold and empty, abandoned by the people it held hostage with open arms. And the world, that peaceful, lovely world that forever spun on its axis…will stop with time on its heels to start the on-coming call of war that will tear them apart._

**Author's Note:**

> Swansong. Noun. A person’s final act or gesture before retiring. 
> 
> Taken a bit out of context here, but still with the same sentiment. Claude’s hypothetical “swansong” is his gradual transition from being in love with Edelgard and Dimitri to moving on to being in love with Byleth.
> 
> In canon I doubt Claude would actually hold a crush on the actual house leaders (my own bias not withstanding) but I've entertained this idea a lot to the point I've appropriated it in this universe. I showcased a little bit of his crush on them in _duck, duck, golden goose _but I'm only now truly showing it here XD.__
> 
> Also, this piece is unedited (aside from typos of course). So the line where Claude grabs her hand isn't actually inspired by the cutscene: I just took advantage of the cutscene being similar to the scenario at hand and used it. And it works out quite nicely, if you ask me.
> 
> If you want to see my previous closing AN that I had planned for this (and why I was so hyped for the dance scene in the opening AN) here it is:
> 
> "Also, yes, this is completely based off that one dancing scene we see in the E3 trailers. Personally, I’m hoping that cutscene is tailored to the house you choose. For example, like in this one-shot, if you choose Claude’s house than I hope Byleth gets to dance with him while Edelgard and Dimitri dance with each other. If you choose Dimitri, then I hope the cutscene chances to Edelgard + Claude dancing and then Claude + Dimitri dancing if you choose Edelgard.  
>    
> Probably wishful thinking but still…I’m a sucker for dancing scenes and I’m hoping that, at the very least, we get to see all three house leaders together with maybe Byleth evening out the numbers (bc they’re the protagonist after all)."


End file.
